Questions and answers: Heroin’s destruction is center stage

For years, doctors have prescribed narcotic painkillers such as Vicodin and OxyContin for those with physical pain, and people have liked the high. Heroin is a readily available, cheaper substitute.

Nearly four out of five people who recently started using heroin used prescription painkillers first, according to a 2013 study from the Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality.

Prescription drugs — mostly narcotic painkillers — contribute to more than 16,000 fatal overdoses a year in the U.S.

But when doctors will no longer prescribe the painkillers, users turn to the streets for cheaper alternatives. The price of an Oxy pill can be between $30 and $80 on the black market versus a dose of heroin for $10.

The shuttering of “pill mills,” where doctors handed out painkillers left and right, and the reformulation of OxyContin to make it harder to crush and snort have contributed to heroin’s appeal as well.

Also, the heroin purity is higher today so users who fear the needle can smoke or snort it. And heroin traffickers are flooding the market with the drug.

Where is the heroin here coming from?

Mostly from Chicago, said Dominic Iasparro, deputy chief of Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department. Chicago gets most of its heroin from Mexico.

Will the state’s attorney here prosecute if I have drugs on me and I call 911 to save the life of a person who died of an overdose?

Generally, no, if you only have a small amount of drugs on you and if you didn’t inject the person who died of an overdose or give or sell them drugs.

“The policy (is) let’s encourage somebody to call to get help,” said Joe Bruscato, Winnebago County state’s attorney. “Do the right thing.

“People should understand that when you are at a location where an overdose occurs, you will not be automatically prosecuted. Circumstances will be taken into consideration.”

Bonnie Falzone-Capriola, who helped start Hope Over Addiction in Rockford, said when she gives talks on addiction to families and friends, she advises that the person who makes the call to 911 should be the one who stays with the person who has overdosed until paramedics and police arrive. She said she believes that the person who makes the call is offered the best protection under the law.

Bruscato’s office will prosecute if circumstances warrant. Case in point: Susan Moore was found guilty of first-degree murder in 2011 for the 2010 death of Tanner E. Groth, 14, whom paramedics found unresponsive at her Rockford home. Tanner was a friend of Moore’s daughter and died from an apparent overdose of morphine, which had been prescribed to Moore for back pain.

Why is heroin so deadly?

Dealers use additives, everything from sugar to baby powder, to expand the weight of the heroin so they can sell more packages to get more money. At least 84 deaths along the East Coast this year were attributed to synthetic fentanyl, a strong painkiller, being added to heroin. Users don’t know what they’re getting.

Also, if a heroin user stops using for a period of time and resumes using at the same level as when they stopped, they can overdose.

If I administer naloxone, do I have to call 911, too?

Yes. Call 911 even before you administer Narcan.

Do not put a person who has overdosed in a cold shower or bath. They could drown. Do not give them anything to drink. They could choke.

If a person does not respond in three minutes to the first dose of naloxone, administer another. Continue rescue breathing if necessary. Naloxone may only last for 30 minutes, and when it wears off, the person may overdose again if the drug is still in their system. Some who overdose may go into drug withdrawal, which may include sweating, vomiting and shaking.

What are legislators/government types doing about the heroin problem?

- The Illinois Young Adult Heroin Task Force held a heroin hearing in Rockford on March 1 and is holding hearings elsewhere in the state this spring. Legislators then will consider the findings in making laws to address the problem.